Method of making matched fabrics



April 22, 1947.

A.v CADOUS METHOD OF MAKING MATCHED FABRICS Filed Aug. 29, 1945 57'OCKFOR 577% TCHABLE FABRIC DYE Fae WARP F02 F/L use H/h L TWIST JP/A/ 7410;JP/N FOE NON- s 7R6 TCHA 84 E FA Bk/C WEAVE WEAVE JHR/NK SHRINK GARMENTINVENTOR ALEXA/V0456 (400w A' l ORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1947 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING MATCHED FABRICS Alexander Cadous,New York, N. Y.

Application August 29, 1945, Serial No. 613,319

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of making fabric and moreparticularly to a method of making stretchable and non-stretchablefabrics which match in color and texture.

stretchable fabrics are woven in extended condition and after weavingare shrunk to their retracted size, which may involve a shrinkage ofsome 40% of their original dimension. They are then stretchable to theiroriginal size. Nonstretchable fabrics are also shrunk after weavin butto a lesser degree.

. One of the difficulties in matching the two types of fabrics, as foruse in garments combining the two fabrics, resides in first securingyarns that exactly match in color. It is well known that yarns dyed atdifferent times vary somewhat in shade in spite of all precaution takenin dyeing. Hence the fabrics are seldom matchable, even in basicyarn-color. A second, and more serious, difficulty is due to thedifference in shrinkage of the two fabrics. Even if the fabrics arewoven from matching yarns and of the same number of picks to the inch,the difierent shrinkages of the two fabrics alter the number of picksper inch in the final products and results in a variation in shade.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioneddifficulties and provide matching stretchable and non-stretchablefabrics for garments.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention are set forth in detail in the claims, the nature of theinvention will be better understood by referring to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which aspecific embodiment has been set forth for purposes of iilustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of my improved process;

Fig. 2 is a diagram representing the stretchable fabric as woven;

Fig. 3 is a diagram representing the same fabric after shrinking;

Fig. 4 is a diagram representing the nonstretchable fabric as woven;

Fig. 5 is a diagram representing the same fabric after shrinking; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a garment embodying the two fabrics ofFigs. 3 and 5.

More specifically, I obtain the desired results by controlling theprocess from the dyeing of the yarn to the selection of the finishedfabrics. In accordance with my process, the skein dyed or stock dyedyarns are dyed in individual lots and are segregated so that the yarn ofeach lot may be handled separately. This is feasible on a commercialscale as the lots may be extremely large.

The dyed yarn of each lot, which is of uniform size and color, isdivided and allocated to the stretchable fabric and to thenon-stretchable fabric in a ratio determined by the relative quantitiesof each fabric required in the end product. For the manufacture ofcertain skirts, for example, one part of stretchable fabric may berequired to seven parts of non-stretchable fabric, or for slacks, theratio may be one to nine, varying according to design. Each individualdye lot of wool, cotton or synthetic fiber yarn is divided in proportionto the end use and the resultant amounts allocated to the diiferentweaving proc esses accordingly.

The portion allotted to the non-stretchable fabric is furthersub-divided into separate lots for the warp and the filler, and the Warpyarn is given a higher twist than the filler in order to increase itsstrength as required. If stock dyed yarn is used the spinning is carriedout after dyeing using selected portions from the same dye lot. If skeindyed yarn is used, the spinning takes place prior to dyeing and in thatevent the two twists are allocated in the proper proportion to the samedye batch.

The portion allotted to the stretchable fabric may be similarlysub-divided and the portion to form the warp given a higher twist thanthe portion to form the filler. In view of the nature of the stretchablefabric, the warp should have a greater tensile strength than the warp tobe used in the non-stretchable fabric. Hence a greater twist is given tothe former than to the latter.

In any case, the various twists should be not substantially greater thanrequired to obtain the necessary tensile strengths in the various yarns.

The bare rubber yarn for the filler is covered with the dyed filler yarnallocated to that purpose as above described so as-to minimize thepossibility of a change in shade when the fabric is stretched and toproduce a uniform surface appearance.

In the weaving process, the rubber yarn is preferably woven to appearonly on the back of the fabric so as to prevent the rubber yarn fromshowing from the front of the fabric when in a stretched condition andthus changing the shade.

The pick count is selected so that both the stretchable andnon-stretchable fabrics will have the same pick count after shrinkage.This involves a reduction in pick count for the stretchable fabricduring weaving of some 40% according to the shrinkage. The fabric mayappear lighter both in weight and shade as woven. However, when treatedin accordance with usual practice for shrinkage the weight, shade andtexture of the two fabrics will be found to match so closely that theyare practically indistinguishable. The differential in pick count may bepresent in either the warp or the weft, depending upon which part of thcloth contains the stretchable yarn. The same effect may be obtained inknitted fabrics by varying the thread count in th manner above describedso as to produce matching end products.

Fig. 1 of the drawing illustrates this process in which the stock isdyed, segregated for stretchable and non-stretchabl fabric, furthersegregated for warp and filler for each fabric, and spun with high andlow twists respectively, Woven into stretchable and non-stretchablefabrics, shrunk to corresponding pick counts, and combined in a finishedgarment.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the relative pick counts of the stretchablefabric before and after shrinking. As shown, there is about a 40%shrinkage of the filler l and about shrinkage of the warp H.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the relative pick counts of the non-stretchablefabric before and after shrinking. As shown there is about a 5%shrinkage of both the warp I2 and the filler 13.

The arrangement is such that both fabrics, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5,have the same pick count after shrinking and the pick counts of thefabrics as woven are calculated in accordance with the shrinkage of theparticular yarns used. The percentages shown are merely illustrative ofone type of yarn.

The warps I I and I3 are given a higher twist in spinning than thefillers l0 and I2 and the warp II, for the stretchable fabric, is givena higher twist than the warp 12 for th non-stretchable fabric for thereasons above started.

Fig. 6 illustrates a skirt embodying the two matching fabrics of Figs. 3and 5. In Fig. 6 the stretchable fabric I4 is positioned at the top tostretch horizontally and the non-stretchable fabric I5 forms the lowerpart of the garment. The two fabrics I l and 15 are joined alonginclined seam lines I6 to facilitate stretching of the fabric 14 at ornear the seam line. The skirt of Fig. 6 is illustrative of variousgarments, such as slacks, panties, slips, or the like, which may embodythe present invention.

The combined fabrics in the finished garments have matchedcharacteristics which result in a pleasing and improved appearance.

Although a specific embodiment has been described for purposes ofillustration, it is to be understood that the invention is capable ofvarious uses. Changes and adaptations will be apparent to a personskilled in the art. The invention is only to be restricted in accordancewith the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making a garment composed of matched stretchable andnon-stretchable fabrics, which comprises dyeing a batch of stock,dividing and allocating portions of the stock from the same dye lot tonon-stretchable and stretchable fabrics, further dividing and allocatingparts of each of said portions to warp and filler, spinning the warps tohave a higher twist than the fillers and the warp for the stretchablefabric to have a higher twist than the warp for the nonstretchabiefabric, weaving the respective warps and fillers into stretchable andnon-stretchable fabrics having a pick count ratio which is the inverseof their shrinkage ratios, shrinking the fabrics to the same pick count,and combining the fabrics in a garment,

2. A garment comprising stretchable and nonstretchable fabrics, saidfabrics containing matching yarn, and when in unst-retched conditionhaving the same pick count, the warp of each fabric having a highertwist than the filler, the warp of the stretchable fabric having ahigher twist than the warp of the non-stretchable fabric, the filler forthe stretchable fabric comprising a rubber yarn covered with saidmatching yarn.

ALEXANDER CADOUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,066,967 Whiting July 8, 19131,575,003 Recher Mar. 2, 1926 484,977 Picot Oct. '25, 1892 2,108,894Kopp et al Feb. 22, 1938 2,241,889 Schweich May 13, 1941 2,271,749Strohmeier et al Feb-'3, .1942 2,146,494 Adamson Feb. 7, 1939

